Irish agri-food blockchain pioneer takes home the European ‘Standards+Innovation’ Award
Irish agri-food blockchain pioneer takes home the European 'Standards+Innovation' Award
- An Irish start-up has won a European award for contributing to Blockchain Standards
- The start-up, Origin Chain Networks, uses Blockchain to create agri-food supply chain solutions
- OCN was nominated for the award by the National Standards Authority of Ireland
Founder and CEO at Origin Chain Networks (OCN), Fiona Delaney, has picked up a prestigious award at the European Committee for Standardization’s (CEN and CENELEC) “Standards+Innovation” Awards. The 2020 ceremony took place this morning to celebrate and acknowledge the important contributions of research and innovation to standardization across Europe.
Ms. Delaney, who was nominated by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), was awarded the accolade for her involvement in standardization in the field of interoperable blockchain infrastructure. Ms. Delaney and OCN submitted a unique agri-food application of blockchain called Universal Farm Compliance to the ‘Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies’ Standards Committee.
The use case describes a blockchain-enabled platform available to farmers and agri-compliance bodies, facilitating rapid and near real-time data-sharing. Universal Farm Compliance helps farmers and the entire agri-food ecosystem to implement a safer, more transparent food supply chain, and advances digital transformation in the agri-food industry.
Speaking on the achievement, Ms. Delaney said:
“'The team at Origin Chain are delighted to receive this European Innovation and Standards award from CEN-CENELEC. We have found Europe to be a strong and influential advocate for blockchain and other emerging technologies; providing infrastructure, guidance and mobilising a uniquely talented and technical community to pool insights, knowledge and new approaches. This atmosphere of excellence is one we are proud to be part of, to learn from, to share and to celebrate together our achievements. It is an honour to be acknowledged by our peers in this way. Thank you to our Technical Committee, NSAI and CEN-CENELEC for supporting our journey.”
Geraldine Larkin, CEO at NSAI said:
“This is a fantastic achievement for Origin Chain Networks and a proud day for NSAI. We thank and commend Fiona for her hard work, her contributions to Standardization, and the real difference she is making to the agri-food sector with her future-forward application of blockchain. OCN’s story is a shining example of how engaging with Standards can make a positive impact in a company, an industry, and indeed in wider society all over the world – In fact, the use case to which Ms. Delaney has contributed is now being adopted by the United Nations.”
In total, 18 projects and individuals had been nominated by Standards organisations across Europe. Other Irish nominees for the award included Gerald Craddock & James Hubbard of the National Disability Authority, and Aquasmart, a Horizon 2020 initiative led by Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) relating to the aquaculture sector.
Editor's Notes
About NSAI
NSAI is Ireland’s official standards body. It has responsibility for providing services for standardization, conformity assessment and measurement. Its primary aim is to improve the efficiency and performance of Irish business and enhance consumers’ confidence through standardization.
NSAI carries out this task by developing standards, inspecting measuring instruments used in trade, conducting audits and issuing certificates on the application of standards to goods, services and measurements. NSAI provides a diverse catalogue of certification services, giving businesses and organisations the tools to demonstrate that their goods and services conform to the highest international standards.
NSAI’s services help to enable trade, protect the consumer and ensure that products and services can be relied upon nationally and across the world.
About Origin Chain Networks
Origin Chain Networks (OCN) provide proofoforigin services to enterprise customers tailored to market needs. Traceability, transparency and trust are the foundation of global digital trade. OCN helps companies to achieve their goals in a secure and enhanced-trust environment. CEO and founder of OCN, Fiona Delaney, is a national delegate with NSAI, and represents Ireland on ISO Technical Committee TC 307, ‘Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies’. It is for her contribution to this committee that she received the European ‘Standards+Innovation’ 2020 individual award.
About CEN-CENELEC
CEN (European Committee for Standardization) and CENELEC (European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization) are the organization responsible for developing Standards at European level, as recognised by the EU. The members of CEN and CENELEC are the National Standardization Bodies of 34 European countries. European Standards contribute to enhancing safety, improving quality and facilitating cross-border trade in the European Single Market.
Media Contact
Bronagh Kelly, PR Account Executive
e: bronagh.kelly@nsai.ie t: +353 86 365 1329
